Quoting A346Dude (Reply 3):You would think first responders would know better than to leave their vehicles on an active crossing.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Is Detroit really going to have to shell out to replace the fire truck? I thought maybe there's insurance for that. Then again, what insurance company would write a policy to cover emergency response vehicles...that would be commercial suicide.

Quoting A346Dude (Reply 3):I'm guessing there is more to this than meets the eye.

Yes there is

Quoting fr8mech (Reply 5):Looks like the vehicles were waiting on cross traffic.

Actually, that is not that case. I was reading about this a couple of weeks ago and what happened is that there was an accident at that location the fire department was responding to and parked the truck on the tracks. Then soon enough, the truck became involved in their own accident.

What a bunch of dumb asses! Like, you can't hear a train coming from miles away.

Quoting A346Dude (Reply 3):I'm guessing there is more to this than meets the eye.

Incompetance? Ignorance? That's what meets my eyes.

This is the kind of stuff you see happening in under-developed 3rd world nations. Heck, no loss. They probably didn't know how to use that truck anyway. Why was a ladder truck responding to a TC? I'm surprised that Detriot hasn't burned to the ground yet with shit for brains firefighters like that.

Quoting kevinl1011 (Reply 8):Heck, no loss. They probably didn't know how to use that truck anyway. Why was a ladder truck responding to a TC? I'm surprised that Detriot hasn't burned to the ground yet with shit for brains firefighters like that.

Now, let's not get too snippy. I can't really tell, but it could be a rear-mount quint. We rolled a quint as first due in the response area to an MVA. When I first started, we carried our extrication tools on a 100' tiller, because it didn't fit on our '70's era Macks.

Different departments have different SOP's for response.

Though, I don't know of any that say you can be stopped on unsecured railroad tracks.

Quoting kevinl1011 (Reply 8):What a bunch of dumb asses! Like, you can't hear a train coming from miles away.

Incompetance? Ignorance? That's what meets my eyes.

This is the kind of stuff you see happening in under-developed 3rd world nations. Heck, no loss. They probably didn't know how to use that truck anyway. Why was a ladder truck responding to a TC? I'm surprised that Detriot hasn't burned to the ground yet with shit for brains firefighters like that.

One of the things I find most interesting is how little the camera moves when the the train hits the truck. That should give everyone some idea of the weight of those locomotives. Think about how much less it would move if that were a Toyota Prius!

Love to be a fly on the wall at the meetings to discuss this incident.

It also reminds me of a spectacular but deliberate demonstration in the UK in 1984, when it was decided to allay fears of the transportation of nuclear material by rail, in what was called 'Operation Smash Hit'.
Also to piss off Greenpeace who had heavily campaigned against this, which as this BBC News report from the time, shows;

Quoting DXing (Reply 11):One of the things I find most interesting is how little the camera moves when the the train hits the truck. That should give everyone some idea of the weight of those locomotives.

Indeed, but many cities are self insured. If that is indeed the case, then the Detroit taxpayers will have to come up not only with the cash to replace the wrecked engine, but pay for any damages to the railroad locomotive, cars and any injury claims.

"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."